Article archive / November 1, 2010
Originally published: . Volume 2, No. 3. Source pages: 7, 14.
On the campus of the University of Louisiana at Monroe (ULM), psychology professor Dr. Joseph (Joe) McGahan and political science professor Dr. John Sutherlin have cofounded a research and training laboratory named Social Science Research Laboratory (SSRL). Together they have designed an interdisciplinary team that promotes community and economic development, while teaching students career enhancing research skills.
“Years ago, my primary goal was to help my students get into competitive doctoral programs,” said Dr. Joe McGahan to the Times. “Although we had some success, I also became increasingly aware that many psych majors ended up working in retail jobs where they appeared less than thrilled.”
Joe had worked in marketing research and realized that this area was going through a paradigm shift. He noticed that psychology and social sciences were “augmenting–perhaps replacing–economics.” He found that he frequently encouraged his students to consider careers in marketing research and R&D. And so to facilitate this he created the SSRL in June 2007.
The lab brings together a diverse group of talent from ULM faculty for interdisciplinary research. Professors from psychology and political science, and also from fields as diverse as educational technology and criminal justice, blend their knowledge and expertise. These “research fellows” work with undergraduate and graduate students in applied research and service-learning projects to benefit the community’s economic conditions.
Dr. Joe McGahan (co-founder of ULM’s Social Science Research Lab) at Scientific Program in Baton Rouge.
Projects at SSRL involve just about any aspect of the overall mission, which is to promote economic development in Louisiana.
Co-founder Dr. John Sutherlin told the Times that one of his favorite projects is Stay Brady Stay, a film project about Louisiana's loss of intellectual capital. “The 26-minute documentary film,” he said, “has been shown in PBS markets across the state and at film festivals. It is forcing public officials to deal with out- migration in ways it never had before.”
Dr. John Sutherlin
The film was the primary result of a grant obtained by Joe and John, “Economic growth and cultural development as a function of an R & D corridor on Louisiana’s northern frontier.” The grant, from the University of Louisiana System, was an attempt to build on LA Tech's research park initiative. "For me," Joe said, "a corridor represents universities working with each other so that the universities win, and more importantly, so does northern Louisiana and, therefore, our state also wins."
For 2010 the cofounders have focused on the impact of literacy in Northern Louisiana, and building community partners. “For the past year,” said Joe McGahan, “we've been cultivating a relationship with the West Monroe Community Center, where we are particularly interested in AmeriCorps.” The lab’s developing projects include: “An international psycho-educational approach to conflict, conflict mediation and conflict resolution,” and “Renewable energy project with the Louisiana Department of Natural Resources.”
“We–graduate and undergraduate students–are working on a Macarthur foundation grant obtained by Dr. Jana Sutton (Marriage & Family) that deals with justice reform– it is a very big project,” Joe noted.
While benefiting the community, the lab provides students with skills-sets that enhance their career contributions and opportunities. This results from the many services provided by the lab, including marketing reports, reliability and validity studies, surveys, focus groups, and controlled experiments.
“In the three plus years since the inception of the SSRL,” Joe noted, “we have worked on numerous health science and law related projects. So I encourage my students to consider dual majors, minors, even just coursework that would prepare them to work in these fields.”
“Moreover,” he continued, “given the current interest in evidence-based programs, I encourage students to master measurement, statistics, and research design so that they could market themselves as research consultants for organizations that are pursuing grant related funding opportunities.”
“If they learn to think of themselves as researchers, they can bring that skill-set wherever they go, even if –just– to a psychiatric institution.”
John Sutherlin believes that the skills gained by his students at SSRL are very important also. “For the political science and sociology students, they could follow the same path for research or work with political campaigns in conducting research, reviewing proposed legislation or in analyzing polling data.”
The broad focus of the SSRL sometimes opens a new career path for the student. “Anti-litter project created the first litter ordinances and public awareness campaign for West Monroe…” John Sutherlin explained. “But this one included a student worker who changed majors and got a masters in environmental policy because of this project.”
The SSRL can be found on the Psychology Department’s home page at University of Louisiana Monroe at: http://www.ulm.edu/ssrl/
Stay Brady Stay, a film project of Dr. John Sutherlin from the SSRL, is a documentary that highlights Louisiana's loss of intellectual capital. It has been shown in PBS markets around the state.
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